Reuben Klamer (June 20, 1922 – September 14, 2021) was an American designer, developer, inventor, entrepreneur, and sales and marketing executive, best known for creating and designing the modern version of classic

Milton Bradley Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with Milton Bradley Company, his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased ...

(now

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

)

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

The Game of Life ''The Game of Life'', also known simply as ''Life'', is a board game originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as ''The Checkered Game of Life'', the first ever board game for his own company, the Milton Bradley Company. The game simulates a ...

''. The Game of Life was marketed in 59 countries and translated in 26 languages. It is estimated that 70 million copies have been sold, and it is the second most popular board game only to ''

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

.'' Although best known for his work in the toy and gaming industries, Klamer held credits in numerous diverse industries including textiles, plastics, aviation, publishing, music television and film.

Early life

Klamer was born in 1922 in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

, to Romanian Jewish emigrants Joseph Klamer and Rachel Levenson. He studied

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

and

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. He completed postgraduate work in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He enlisted in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

school at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1943 and served in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Early career

Post WWII, he worked as a marketing developer for an air cargo company, designing his first invention for air freight travel before starting his own

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

, ''The Klamer Company''

Toys and gaming industry

Klamer's career started with the

Ideal Toy Company Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy ...

in 1949. He created the

Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of '' House Party'', which ran on CBS radio ...

Spin-A-Hoop (to compete with the

Wham-O Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. It is known for creating and marketing many popular toys for nearly 70 years, including the Hula hoop, Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, Silly S ...

hula hoop A hula hoop is a toy hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel with careful execution and practice. They have been used by children and adults since ...

), Gaylord the Walking Dog, and Busy Blocks. He also created the

Fisher-Price Fisher-Price, Inc. is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York, East Aurora, New York (state), New York. It was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression ...

Preschool Trainer Skates.

Television

Klamer was approached by the producers of '' The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' to design a special weapon for the show's secret agents. He produced a toy version for Ideal. Impressed with Klamer's work, and under pressure from network executives to make his show more "action packed," ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' producer

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...

enlisted Klamer to design "a really big gun." He built the phaser rifle used in the episode "

Where No Man Has Gone Before "Where no man has gone before" is a phrase made popular through its use in the title sequence of the original 1966–1969 ''Star Trek'' science fiction television series, describing the mission of the starship ''Enterprise''. The complete int ...

." He created the ''

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film ''The Pink Panthe ...

'' Travelling Show Car, build on an oldsmobile chassis for the ''

'' Cartoon Series

The Game of Life

In June 1959, Klamer pitched an art center concept to

that featured their crayons and finger paints. The company declined, but Milton Bradley president James Shea, Sr. asked Klamer to develop a game in celebration of the hundredth anniversary of

Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley (1836-1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production o ...

. After months of development, Klamer unveiled ''The Game of Life'' at the 1960 American International Toy Fair in the Milton Bradley showroom. Spurred by the endorsement of TV personality Art Linkletter, the game went on to sell more than fifty million copies.

Death

Klamer died on September 14, 2021, at the age of 99.Reuben Klamer, Creator of The Game of Life, Dies at 99
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Awards and honors

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klamer, Reuben 1922 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American inventors People from Canton, Ohio American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American Jews American inventors University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni Ohio State University Fisher College of Business alumni George Washington University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II